The Lincolnshire County Council's Executive met to discuss the Section 17 Crime and Disorder Strategy and the Review of Financial Performance for the second quarter of 2025/26, and voted to approve the recommendations for both. The Crime and Disorder Strategy was recommended to the County Council for formal approval, and the Executive noted the forecast outturn position for revenue and capital, along with the mitigations being progressed.

Review of Financial Performance (2025/26 Quarter 2)

The Executive reviewed the council's financial performance for the second quarter of 2025/26 and approved the recommendations set out in the report. Councillor Philip Roberts, the chairman of the Overview and Scruti Management Board, presented comments from the board, which had held a detailed discussion and endorsed the report and its recommendations on 20 November 2025.

Key points from the review included:

• Highways underspend: Most schemes had been deferred rather than cancelled, with a focus on prioritising safety-critical works. A revised delivery schedule would be provided.
• Demand-led budgets: Overspends were being managed through contingencies and one-off measures, but officers acknowledged the challenges and outlined actions being taken in adult care and children's services.
• Dedicated School Grant (DSG): The board expressed concern about the high-needs deficit and the rise in Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). Officers explained that the council was expanding specialist and alternative provision and strengthening EHCP processes.
• Capital schemes: No schemes had been removed from the programme, and changes reflected timing adjustments rather than reductions in planned investment.
• Waste budget: Fluctuations were linked to energy prices, and a corporate contingency existed to manage this risk.
• Fire and rescue control project: The project remained on track, with the slip relating only to the timing of expenditure.
• IT contract: Transition costs related to the dual running period with the outgoing supplier and restructuring costs that would enable future savings.

Councillor Natalie Rebecca Oliver, the Executive Councillor for Children's Services, noted the significant pressures and demands in children's services, which were also being seen nationally. She said that the council was continuing to do all it could to mitigate those costs, such as the ambitious better belonging strategy and also bringing in placements in terms of our short-stay children's homes.

Councillor Steve Clegg asked about the establishment of a working group and whether an elected member should be part of it. He also asked about the frequency of progress reports to the executive. Officers responded that they would be happy to invite any elected members who wished to be part of that nomination to be involved in that, and that an annual report would suffice in terms of the reporting.

Councillor Thomas Charles Catton raised concerns about the statement of zero cost, saying:

I do think we need to be somewhat careful, generally speaking, when we talk about zero cost. There's almost nowhere. It doesn't cost something. I can confirm that by some of the things I've asked to have done and actually cost a fortune. So we need to be very careful when we say zero scrutiny committees as well that push back on that comment.

Councillor Oliver observed that on page 26, there was a paragraph that talked about violence against women and girls, amongst others, and that the lack of mention for men and boys was actually really important to distinguish in there.

Lincolnshire County Council Section 17, Crime and Disorder Strategy

The Executive approved a recommendation to the County Council for formal approval of the Lincolnshire County Council Section 17 Crime and Disorder Strategy. The strategy sets out how the council will meet its statutory duties under Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998¹, which requires it to consider the impact of all its decisions and actions on crime and disorder.

Martin Parker introduced the strategy, explaining that it wasn't a new activity, new activities that we're doing, it's not new costs that we're putting into things. He said that these are activities that we've all done always, such as the Safer Lincolnshire Partnership, the Domestic Abuse Partnership Board and Youth Justice Board.

Councillor Alan Christopher Woodruff, the Chairman of the Community Safety Scrutiny Committee, presented comments from the committee, which had recorded its strong support for the strategy. The committee had received clarification that there were no costs to report on for the action plan within the strategy, as the focus was on departments working together to ensure clear monitoring of the work set out.

Councillor Sean Matthews, the Leader of the Council, asked why this was the first time this had been put in place. Martin Parker responded that the council had always relied on the Safe and Lincolnshire Partnership Strategy, which is a partner in that we administrate that for the county. He said that when the new legal officer was employed and reviewed our in-house strategies, the recommendation that came forward, actually, that we need to strengthen that.